Polish Poppy Seed Bread Recipe

This delicious rich sweet yeast bread may be filled with ground nuts
or poppy seeds. One can use a canned poppyseed filling or make their own.
Breads may also be baked in a cake pan for a ring loaf. Best eaten warm, freezes well and easily reheats.
Read more A grerat recipe for those who love to work with yeast dough! See less

How to make it

Prepare filling by combine either poppy seeds or nuts with remaining filling ingredients. Chill until mixture is firm. Filling may be prepared ahead of time and even frozen for future. use. This filling is great for other poppyseed cakes, strudel recipes etc

Make dough: Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup milk.

Combine all dry ingredients including sugar. make a well in center and add eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, remaining milk, vanilla and beat with a spoon. gradually add enough flour to make a dough that clings together. Knead smooth and elastic, about 5 to 8 minutes

Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn to coat dough. Cover with a warm damp cloth and let rise double in a warm place.

Gently punch down dough

Cut into two pieces.

Roll out to a large rectangle

Spread each with 1/2 of the poppyseed or nut mixture

Sprinkle on some raisins as desired

Roll up jelly roll style, tuck ends under

Place in a large loaf pan ( large 9 x5 or 10 x5 ) buttered pan seam side down

Let rise puffy in a warm place

Brush with melted butter

sprinkle on some cinnamon and sugar

Bake in a 350F about 1 hour or tested done

Note: bread will brown quickly and it may be necessary to loosely cover with foil to prevent over browning!!

When done, cool in pan on rack 15 minutes

Carefully remove to cool completely

Slice when warm ( not hot )

Freeze one loaf for future use

Note: dough may be place in a ring or bundt pan and baked as a ring instead of a loaf